Many Mediterranean fish stocks are in a worrying state, with alarming consequences for income and jobs in the Mediterranean fishing sector. To highlight the need for action, European Commissioner for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, Karmenu Vella, yesterday launched the campaign #MedFish4Ever. More than 80 representatives from EU institutions, European regions, business, and NGOs gathered at the European Commission stand at the Seafood Global Expo in Brussels for the launch event.

Concerned with the steep decline of fish stocks in the Mediterranean, on 27 April Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Karmenu Vella hosted a high level Ministerial meeting with fisheries ministers from countries bordering the Mediterranean. Nineteen out of twenty-two riparian countries were represented, as well as GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean), FAO and MEDAC (Mediterranean Advisory Council).

The EU and Canada today signed a Joint Declaration on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, sending a strong message of zero tolerance towards such criminal activities. The declaration was signed by Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, and the Canadian Minister of Fisheries Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Hunter Tootoo.

To reverse the dramatic decline of Mediterranean fisheries, Commissioner Vella commits to improve the state of the stocks and thus the economic prospects of the industry. At a global event in Brussels, he unveils a new strategy for the Mediterranean and launches a dialogue with Ministers from EU and non-EU countries.

Mediterranean fish stocks keep declining. To reverse the trend and to bring more and more stocks towards sustainable levels, the EU is launching a new political campaign to be announced for the first time at the exhibition.

The European Union participated in the first round of international negotiations on measures to prevent unregulated fisheries in the Arctic high seas took place between 19 and 21 April in Washington DC.